Assisting Pediatricians to Recognize Deficits in Their Infants and Toddlers That May Indicate a Diagnosis of ASD

In my pediatric practice, I see toddlers from both monolingual and bilingual families who appear to demonstrate symptoms that may indicate a developmental language disorder or a delay in language development. However, they may be exhibiting early symptoms of ASD. Would you provide me with more information about the characteristics of ASD in infants and toddlers and…

What Can I Expect from a Quality ABA Program?

I am a father of a three-year-old boy who has recently received an autism diagnosis. Our pediatrician recommended we investigate ABA services. However, when I researched ABA on the internet, I was confused by the mixed information I found. It seems that there are people who have strong opinions about ABA that conflict with what…

EIBI in Community Settings: Public Preschool and Kindergarten

  Eikeseth, S., Klintwall, L., Jahr, E., & Karlsson, P. (2012). Outcomes for children with autism receiving early and intensive behavioral intervention in mainstream preschool and kindergarten settings. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2, 829-835. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2011.09.002 Reviewed by: Casey L. Nottingham Caldwell University Why review this topic? Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is…

Expanding Interest

My child is doing well with many of his ABA programs, even the ones that focus on the development of play skills. Unfortunately, he doesn’t play with most of the toys that we give him, and he has worked for the same five things since our program began a year ago (marshmallow peeps, Thomas trains,…

How do you figure out what motivates your students?

Maximizing motivation is an essential component of effective teaching and behavior reduction; therefore, preference assessments can help identify those items and activities that will be most motivating for individuals with autism. In this issue of Clinical Corner, Niall Toner shares why preference assessments are so important and provides an excellent overview of the various types…

Productive Meetings in Home ABA Programs

I am a parent who has a home-based ABA program. We are fortunate to hold monthly meetings with all of the providers that work with my child. I am looking for some ideas on how to make the most of these meetings. Any suggestions? Answered by Preeti Chojar ASAT Parent Board Member It is terrific…

Teaching an 18-Month-Old with Autism

I am a behavior analyst working with an 18-month-old recently diagnosed with autism. Do you have any suggestions on how to work with such a young client? Answered by Peggy Halliday, MEd, BCBA, Virginia Institute of Autism and Tristram Smith, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center By now most of us have become familiar with…

Regulating Sleep

I am a home program coordinator who works with a six-year old child diagnosed with autism. The parents are concerned because their child struggles at bedtime and will often wake up in the middle of the night to come into their room. The parents want their child to stay asleep and have tried everything to…